In about a fortnight I'll be getting back with the results of the sugar and spice sniffathon, just waiting for school holidays to end to get the judiciary panel back together.

2nd July 2010, 03:57 AM

jbthorpe

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

I have 3 daughters under 15 years old and all own 2 or 3 bottles of perfume. I have found that giving in to the marketing trap is probably the best idea with the young ones. To illustrate, I tried talking my daughters into sampling some of the finer fragrances that I thought might suit them, but I ultimately ended up buying them all different Harajuku Lovers frags. They liked the cute Asian dolls on the perfume bottle caps. Even my 13 year old got sucked in by the cute bottle and the marketing. Don't try to force them to like what you consider to be a wonderful fragrance, let them pick the one that smells just like coconut suntan oil, has a plastic doll on top, and ounce for ounce costs twice as much as a good Guerlain fragrance. You can't win when they are that age.

2nd July 2010, 09:23 AM

kewart

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

I would go with pretty bottles at that age - maybe Daisy, Hanae Mori Magical Moon,
Vera Wang Princess, Miss Dior Cherie, Coco Mademoiselle
or maybe some of the cheaper Victoria's Secret scents (although not the
inappropriately named Sexy Little Things!!) - that would give their parents a heart attack!!

2nd July 2010, 07:16 PM

Un profumo affettuoso

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

My daughter started loving perfumes at the age of 3 or 4 I guess...I gave her Bulgari Petits et Mamans when she was at that age... - now she's 8 and adores Annick Goutal's Pétite Chérie. I don't buy any of the horrid Disney or Barbie or Hello, KItty scents for her -and she herself doesn't like this stuff either. It all depends on the "olfactory edication" of the kid - you can't start too early. For a 12 or 14 year-old I'd suggest some light Acqua Allegoria from the Guerlain range, Mandarin-Basilic for example, it is lovely. I think it is important that children learn to enjoy and discern fragrances and don't become overwhelmed by fashion trends. Perfumes are so much more than a life-style gadget.

2nd July 2010, 08:13 PM

N_Tesla

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

Olfactory and fashion education should be a home taught aspect of parenting. Remember that children pattern much of their later lives based on observing parental behavior and values. As a girl or boy learns of the integral role that fragrance plays in their concept of fashion self image is enhanced. Teen age children tend to be more involved with friends, parties and self image, so if you start before the teen years you remain a source of resource and counsel. These vital years also begin the association of scents with times in their lives, imprinting of memory of given fragrances. Teach them how to dress, use cosmetics and fragrance for their varying social activities and they will be more the grateful later on in life. Confidence, self image and the development of good taste are the resulting rewards of the parents involvement.

2nd July 2010, 08:18 PM

Guest 3

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

I don't know...when I was a kid my mother tried to steer me toward the classier more refined fragrances. Some I liked, but I still went for the crap (still do, lol!). I think jbthorpe is right...you can't argue with that age. It depends what their individual fragrance preferences are. I would imagine they'd go for something in a fun bottle at any rate - like the Harajuku Lovers. Someone else posted a question about this recently and got some good suggestions.

2nd July 2010, 08:21 PM

Pour_Monsieur

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

Agree with everything that has been said here , I think that age is fine as long as they dont over apply . Harajuku lovers would be perfect imo , I suggested them to a friend of mine for her daughter last year and she was over the moon

2nd July 2010, 08:42 PM

Hillaire

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

Quote:

Originally Posted by N_Tesla

Olfactory and fashion education should be a home taught aspect of parenting. Remember that children pattern much of their later lives based on observing parental behavior and values. As a girl or boy learns of the integral role that fragrance plays in their concept of fashion self image is enhanced. Teen age children tend to be more involved with friends, parties and self image, so if you start before the teen years you remain a source of resource and counsel. These vital years also begin the association of scents with times in their lives, imprinting of memory of given fragrances. Teach them how to dress, use cosmetics and fragrance for their varying social activities and they will be more the grateful later on in life. Confidence, self image and the development of good taste are the resulting rewards of the parents involvement.

This is really true. All of it. My son, now ten, is probably more aesthetically inclined than most, but I have always talked about matters of good taste and dress, fragrance application, etc. He adores his "Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style" book as a resource, and refers frequently to it now that he is "on his own", in these matters; that is; I no longer brush his hair, etc.

I'd think that if your nieces are interested in these things and attuned to them (Many girls are.), it should be obvious, and age appropriate fragrances are a wonderful and special gift. Leave the 'how-much' talk to mom, though, I think.

Goutal's Petite Cherie is a great one for girls.
I can also recommend Lollia fragrances, which are fruity but lovely and come in very charming bottles.

3rd July 2010, 08:58 AM

odioustoilet

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

Thank you all for some very informative opinions!

3rd July 2010, 10:48 AM

nyneve

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

expensive:
Daisy
La chasse aux papillons
Petite Chérie

less expensive
Moschino Cheap and Chic Hippy Fizz

3rd July 2010, 11:46 AM

DeepSilence

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

Whenever themselves like to wear! I'm not girl. but i think they will choose Fruity or Oriental fragrances.

3rd July 2010, 05:58 PM

perfaddict

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

Bought Lil Angel - Harajuku Lovers for my 5 year old. She likes it.....but goes more for her mum's Premiere Figueur Extreme. She definitely knows what she likes. We realise we just need to guide her so she does not over-apply, like certain parties of the dad persuasion ;0)

3rd July 2010, 06:13 PM

Linds

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

I started wearing perfumes when I was in junior high, so that would have made me 12-13. I had some pretty mature tastes, too - Hypnotic Poison, Lolita Lempicka, Anna Sui, Gap Grass, Be Delicious were all things that I wore back then. I see nothing wrong with letting girls that age wear what they want. Sure, it might be a little strange smelling Opium on a 12 year old, but if it makes her feel good about herself, why not?

4th July 2010, 11:23 AM

Jane Daly

Re: 40 yr. old male with two nieces 12 and 14 when is it okay for girls to start wearing perfumes an

I have 2 girls, 14 & 22 and both (obviously lol) love perfume. I found they started out with bath lines before venturing into perfume.

Older one started wearing perfume around 12 or 13 and she loved scents from The Body Shop (the citrus-y ones) J Lo Glow and other clean type scents, including the Clean perfumes as well. She still loves the Clean perfumes and wears them right alongside her Jo Malones and L' Artisans.

The Body Shop is easy as there are body mists, lotions and body butters that make a nice segue into perfumes.

14 year old loves the LAVANILLA line, the Clean line, Miss Dior Cherie, a few Comptoir Sud Pacifique scents (Matin Calin mostly) Marc Jacobs Lola. She has swiped a few spritzes from my Etro Heliotrope which is very soft and low sillage.

Both girls have loved and worn Annick Goutal Petite Cherie and both love the Philosophy Grace lines- Amazing & Inner Grace being faves. Philosophy comes in fun packaging that is perfect for gift giving and the perfumes are available in little bottles for under $25, a nice way to try them out.

Sephora offers a lot of their top selling scents in 25 ml roller balls which are low sillage & a nice way to try something without spending a fortune.